U.S. Market Indexes Higher after FOMC Minutes

U.S. market indexes were higher in trading on Wednesday. For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 17918.62 for a gain of 78.00 points or 0.44 percent. The S&P 500 was also higher, closing at 2099.73 for a gain of 11.18 points or 0.54 percent. The Nasdaq Composite closed higher at 4859.16 for a gain of 36.26 points or 0.75 percent. The VIX Volatility Index was lower at 15.12 for a loss of -0.46 points or -2.95 percent.

Source: DJIA, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite. Google Finance.

Wednesday’s Market Movers

The Federal Reserve’s June Federal Open Market Committee Meeting Minutes were the key focus for the day. The June Meeting Minutes, released in the afternoon, showed the Fed’s hesitancy to raise rates following a May jobs report that showed an increase of only 38,000 jobs. Friday’s jobs report will be of key importance as the Fed takes into consideration all market factors affecting monetary policy. A strong jobs report combined with the recently increased first quarter GDP report of 1.1 percent SAAR could position the economy for a potential rate increase this year. However, in the Fed’s June Meeting Minutes the FOMC gave no indication on the timing for the next rate increase.

In a speech Wednesday, Fed Official, Daniel Tarullo said inflation could still see further improvement as other market factors continue to be closely watched.

A number of other economic reports also influenced trading for the day. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s mortgage applications report showed mortgage applications up 14.2 percent from the previous week and refinancings up 21 percent. The May International Trade report showed the U.S. trade deficit widening to -$41.1 billion with greater imports than exports. Reports on services were improved on Wednesday. The PMI Services Index increased to 51.4 from 51.3. The ISM Non-Manufacturing Index also increased to 56.5 from 52.9.

Stocks trading actively for the day included Bank of America, Ford, Apple, General Electric, Citigroup, Regions Financial Corp., Microsoft and Alcoa.

In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, stocks leading gains for the day included:

Gains (percent)

Merck 2.01

Home Depot 1.73

Cisco 1.45

Exxon Mobil 1.18

JPMorgan 1.13

Top sectors for the broad market were healthcare and consumer discretionary. In technology, stocks were higher. The Nasdaq 100 was higher for the day at 4443.29 for a gain of 32.54 points or 0.74 percent and the following stocks led trading in the technology sector.

Gains (percent)

Celgene 4.32

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 3.6

Incyte 3.55

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals 3.23

In commodities, gold traded higher as evidenced by the SPDR Gold Trust which reported a gain of 0.76 points or 0.59 percent. In currencies, the dollar was lower for the day as the U.S. Dollar Index was down -0.15 points or -0.16 percent to close at 96.05.

Small-Cap Stocks

In small-caps, the Russell 2000 followed the day’s trend higher closing at 1147.44 for a gain of 7.98 points or 0.70 percent. The S&P 600 closed at 704.31 for a gain of 4.25 points or 0.61 percent. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 7037.54 for a gain of 55.99 points or 0.80 percent. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index closed at 8319.33 for a gain of 36.47 points or 0.44 percent.

Other Notable Indexes

Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index which closed at 1489.95 for a gain of 7.65 points or 0.52 percent; the S&P 100 closing at 929.83 for a gain of 5.12 points or 0.55 percent; the Russell 3000 closing at 1236.45 for a gain of 6.70 points or 0.54 percent; the Russell 1000 closing at 1161.77 for a gain of 6.16 points or 0.53 percent; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index closing at 611.78 for a gain of 2.92 points or 0.48 percent.